A Happy Pocket Full of Money by David Cameron Gikandi isn’t ‘just’ a personal finance book, nor is it just a book on manifestation. It is a thought-provoking look into mindset, success and re-defining wealth.
If you’re looking for a step-by-step guide on financial strategies, budgeting or investing, this is not the book for you. This book is more philosophical than it is practical, however if you’re looking for a fresh perspective on leadership, focus, and mindset within the theme of wealth, this book may resonate with you.
In complete honesty, when I started the book, I was not sure if I would be able to complete it. The first few chapters dive deep into quantum physics and I struggled to stay engaged. I am glad I persevered as what followed truly shifted my mindset around work and making money.
One of the main themes of this book is its emphasis on the idea that wealth is a state of being rather than just a number in your bank account. Gikandi argues that money is an effect, not a cause. According to him, success begins with a mindset shift—one where you understand that wealth is about clarity, confidence, and focus, not just financial strategies.
This means thinking, speaking, and acting as if you already possess the success you seek, which ultimately helps drive better business and leadership outcomes.
This concept is seen a lot in the world of manifestation; whether you’re on the more spiritual side, looking at vibrating at the same frequency as your success, or on the more practical side whereby doing the habits and actions of the “successful” version of you should create that same success for the current you.
While I have understood this advice on a practical level, this is the first time I have started to understand the deeper, more philosophical and energetic aspects of this. Certainly, the book aids you in shifting your perspective; how you view your life, what you consider wealth to be, your dreams and your goals.
There is also a powerful message on the self-talk; cynics may look at it and argue that it is just semantics, but Gikandi points out that wanting is a perpetual state – while in the state of wanting we never receive, to receive we have to change our state. We can however, receive whilst remaining in a state of desire. He uses this to explain why we should use phrases like “I desire” instead of “I want” when looking at our goals, as the power of words is so important.
Whilst a simple point, this stood out for me. One of the most important turning points in my self development journey, and particularly in healing from burnout, was focusing on my internal self talk and the words I choose to use.
It is easy for us, when fatigued, to err towards the more negative. However, if we were to spend more of our time looking towards positivity, how might that change how we view the world? Whether that is using specific words that open up our options, or whether that is looking for good and joy in everything we experience, shifting your focus from what is going wrong to what is going right is an immediate way to feel better.
For me, however, the most striking chapter was the chapter on the power of living in the present moment. Accepting that the past is unchangeable, and that the future is untouchable.
Memories of past experiences take over. But what good does it do to live today based on your memory of yesterday? You miss the gift of the present moment totally!
On a personal level, I have been guilty of ruminating over the past, lying awake at night torturing myself with all the things I might have done wrong, or could have done differently. It is neither helpful nor healthy, but like many others I believed it to be a useful learning tool. Knowing how I could have done things differently in the past would surely help me in the future.
Gikandi however, points out that those specific circumstances will never again exist; they are in the past. Every new moment is exactly that, a brand new moment, with new experiences and expertise to draw upon to make decisions.
Everything changes, and using memory keeps you from seeing that change, seeing things as they truly are. Try to “forget” everything about what you are looking at, and you will discover a whole new world.
Similarly, Gikandi warns against worrying about the future.
Remember, the universe can only use the present moment to send you clues, people, events and opportunities to advance; it cannot use the imaginary future in your head.
Effective leadership requires presence; it is being fully present in the here and now that allows us to make better decisions. Worrying about the future does not change the future, it only steals joy from the now.
As a result of reading this book, I took on an experiment, where, each time I found my thoughts veering towards the past or the future, I would bring them back to the present moment, the present experience.
The result of the experiment has been a surprising amount of peace.
It’s not that I am not taking actions to aid me in the future, future-proofing so to speak, but that I am not living in the imaginary future in my head, instead experiencing the real time evolution as it happens.
